Nano-structured zinc oxide/silicon dioxide thermoelectric generator: a waste heat harvesting technology

• Main Authors: Rahman, Mohammed Ataur, Abubakar Hassan, Yusuf Abdi, Aung, Kyaw Myo, Ihsan, Sany Izan
• Format: Proceeding Paper
• Language: English; English
• Published: Springer 2023
• Subjects: TL1 Motor vehicles
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/98779/1/98779_Nano-structured%20zinc%20oxide.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/98779/7/98779_Nano-structured%20zinc%20oxide_SCOPUS.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/98779/; https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-19-9509-5_68

Internal Combustion Engine in Hybrid powered transportation system is combating issues such as rising power costs, pollution, and global warming. The exhaust of internal combustion engines wastes a significant amount of fuel energy. Many academics are attempting to develop the waste energy harvesting- based power generator in order to reduce the negative effects. However, they have achieved only 5–7% of waste energy harvesting. The goal of this work is to describe a semiconductive thermoelectric generator (STEG) that uses a semi- conductive zinc oxide (ZnO)/silicon di-oxide (SiO2) composite to achieve a waste energy harvesting efficiency of 10–15%. The samples for the STEG models have been developed using ZnO blended epoxy resin and hardener for n-type and SiO2 blended epoxy resin and hardener pasted on CF for p-type. STEG models have made by sandwiching dielectric film by p-type and n-type SC. Each of the final samples has a 100 mm2 surface area. The STEG samples were examined in the electronic lab using Keithley Parametric Analyzer software to determine the best composition based on the performance of electric conductivity (σ), short circuit current density (Jsc), open circuit voltage (Voc), zT merits, seeback coefficient (α) and conversion efficiency (ηcon). The samples were tested with applying heat externally at 150 °C. The best results were obtained for the sample of 30 wt.% of ZnO and 70% of SiO2 as σ of 5.4xe8m1!1, Voc of 525 mV, Jsc of 14 × 10–9 A/m2 and ηcon of 15%.